It is in the Middle East that the U.S.
has been made to confront its attitudes on the use of force, the role of allies, and
international law. The history of the U.S. in the Middle East, then, becomes an especially
revealing mirror on America's view of its role in the wider world. In this wise,
objective, and illuminating history, Lawrence Freedman shows how three key events in
197879 helped establish the foundations for U.S. involvement in the Middle East that
would last for thirty years, without offering any straightforward or bloodless exit
options: the Camp David summit leading to the Israel-Egypt Treaty; the Iranian Islamic
revolution leading to the Shah's departure followed by the hostage crisis; and the
socialist revolution in Afghanistan, resulting in the doomed Soviet intervention. Freedman
makes clear how America's strategic choices in those and subsequent crises led us to where
we are today. A Choice of Enemies is essential reading for anyone concerned with the
complex politics of the region or with the future of American foreign policy.Information

Destroying World Order: U.S. Imperialism in the Middle
East Before and After September 11th (Paperback), by Francis Anthony Boyle. Clarity
Press; 1 edition (April 2004).

What are the imperial dimensions of U.S.
policy in the Middle East, past and present? This hard-hitting commentary, well-grounded
in fact and law, addresses these questions: 1) Did the U.S. break international law in the
Middle East before September 11th? 2)...after September 11th? 3) How are U.S. actions
affecting the UN? 4) What are the implications for world peace for the American military,
American civil liberties and American and international economic well-being? 5) Should
George W. Bush be impeached for lying in leading the nation to war? The author further
discusses U.S. assistance to Iraq during the Iran/Iraq war and U.S. conduct of the 1990
Gulf War, and the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in relation to violations of the
laws of neutrality, humanitarian law, the laws of war and the U.S. Constitution. The
concluding chapter includes draft articles for the impeachment of President George W.
Bush.Information

Discussions of terrorism and suicide
bombers run the risk of painting these complex, polarizing issues with too broad a brush,
rushing to quick summations and blanket statements at the expense of depth. Not so with
Martyrs, Knight-Ridder Deputy Foreign Editor Joyce Daviss multi-faceted approach to
the subject. While never excusing the unspeakable acts that they commit, Davis sets out to
find out what can fill people with such hate and zealotry that they would willingly die in
the process of attacking their enemies. Only with this knowledge, she theorizes, can America
understand who its up against and find a way to stop these forces before they kill
again. Davis profiles numerous people in the Middle East on many different sides of the
martyrdom issue. Her scope is impressive; the book devotes chapters to children who have
died in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, female suicide bombers, mothers of men who have
been declared martyrs, and, in what is perhaps the most compelling section, men who train
bombers before the missions are carried out. Besides gathering a wide range of viewpoints,
Davis brings a perspective to this well-covered issue that is personal and moving: rather
than relying on news reports or spending much time with policy experts, Davis traveled to
the region, met the people, and got the story. Her interviews create a fascinating mosaic
of people at the heart of the conflict between the United States, Israel, and several
primarily Muslim countries. Along the way, insight is gained into the underpinnings of
anti-American sentiment in the Arab world: its roots, evolution, and future. Daviss
actual writing can be a bit clunky from time to time, especially when she spells out her
analysis rather than letting her copious research lead us to those same conclusions. But
this does not distract from Daviss largely successful to shed light on a world that
has long existed mostly in shadow.Information

Media, War and Terrorism: Responses from the
Middle East and Asia
(Politics in Asia) (Hardcover), by Van Der Veer. RoutledgeCurzon; 1 edition (July 6,
2004).

Media, War and Terrorism analyses, for
the first time, responses to the events of 9/11 and it's repercussions from the point of
view of Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Perhaps controversially, the contributors
argue that while the US, and to an extent European, media seems largely unified in their
coverage and silence in public debate of the events surrounding the attacks on the World
Trade Centre, there exists open, critical debate in other parts of the world. By examining
the use of media as an instrument of warfare and analyzing the construction of public
opinion in mediated electronic warfare, this book clearly shows the difference in
perspectives between public opinion in the US and the rest of the world. Moving away from
popular assumptions that societies in the West are democratic and progressive and those in
the Middle East and Asia are either authoritarian or under-developed, this examination of
the media in those countries suggests the exact opposite. In combining an examination of
the general, theoretical issues concerning the use of the media as an instrument of
warfare with rich, geographically diverse case studies, the editors are able to provide a
diverse and intriguing analysis of the impact and inter-connectedness of national and
global medias. Bringing together contributions from academics, journalists and media
practioners from all over the world, Media, War and Terrorism is an essential read for all
of those seeking an informed, non-Western perspective on the events following 9/11. Information

September 11 produced unprecedented
political will in the United States to fight international terrorism with all of the
energy and power at the collective disposal of America and its allies. That principle has
already been applied to al-Qaeda and is now being applied to Saddam Husayn's Iraq. But
what effect has the U.S.-led "war on terror" had on the leaders and state
sponsors of other Middle Eastern terrorist organizations? In this sober, fact-filled
assessment of U.S. counterterrorism policy over the past year, Matthew Levitt argues that
without marshalling the resolve and resources to fight terror on all its fronts
simultaneously, the West will not fully come to grips with the implications of September
11.Information

The Limits of American Power: Prosecuting a Middle
East Peace (Hardcover), by Douglas Sturkey. Edward Elgar Publishing (June 30, 2007).

The Limits of American Power discusses
how any country, including the US, has a range of instruments, short of force, at its
disposal by which it may project power in pursuit of its diplomatic objectives. The use of
the instruments is subject to domestic and international constraints and, particularly in
the case of the US, its global position must also be considered. This is a fascinating and
rigorous study of how, from 1991, the US projected its power to attain its declared
objective of a negotiated settlement of the Arab-Israel dispute, yet despite these
efforts, failed to achieve it. The author reveals the disinclination of Presidents Clinton
and George W. Bush to employ all the means available to them, and discontinuities in their
approaches, which resulted in an ineffective projection of power during their presidencies
to 2006. This analysis reveals measures that could be applied for a more effective
projection of state power in relation to the Middle East dispute and also in other
circumstances around the globe. This book's penetrating analysis and lessons to be learnt
from the US experience in relation to the Arab-Israel dispute, will appeal strongly to
scholars and practitioners in international relations, political science, and diplomacy. Information

Taking issue with the convenient views
that the Middle East is an irrational and exceptional region of world politics and that
the long and bloody history of the Palestine conflict is proof, the authors of this
stimulating collection combine theoretical reflection and empirical investigation,
marrying International Relations theory and Middle East studies. Through integrating
macro- and micro-perspectives, tracing the interaction of global and regional environments
with individuals pursuing political goals, this book rejects the cultural stereotype of
"Middle Eastern exceptionalism" and argues that regional patterns of conflict
are deeply embedded in international and transnational relations and that their particular
trajectories have to be interpreted in the light of global political developments.Information

The Middle East: a region that's almost
never off the front pages, yet one most Americans know little about. The mainstream media
and Ivy League academics only make matters worse by casting everything in the usual
politically correct mold: Arab terrorists are just desperate freedom fighters, and the
region's one free democracy--Israel--is the oppressor, not least because of its alliance
with America. And if Islamic extremism is a problem, the establishment tells us, it's only
because it's rooted in that source of all evils: religion. A different strain of political
correctness has seeped into some minds on the right--most notably the Bush administration,
which, so ready to buy into the egalitarian myths we are all taught, believed that
Western-style democracy could flourish anywhere. Now, in The Politically Incorrect
Guide(tm) to the Middle East, veteran Middle East correspondent Martin Sieff puts the lie
to all these myths and clichés, giving you everything you need to know about the region
to understand its past, its present, and its possible future.Information

War on Terror: The Middle East Dimension (Paperback), by Weinberg Founders Conference
(Author), Robert B. Satloff (Editor). Washington Institute for Near East Policy (April 16,
2002).

The al-Qaeda terrorist network may have
been based in Afghanistan, but the war on terrorism launched in the wake of September 11
has special resonance in the Middle East. In this edited volume, a blue-ribbon collection
of U.S. and Middle Eastern scholars, experts, diplomats, journalists, and
decision-makerssome from the front lines of the fight against terrordiscuss
the Middle Eastern dimension of the antiterror campaign. Topics include the impact of
September 11 on the Arab-Israeli arena, the various strategies adopted by Middle Eastern
states in meeting their home-grown extremist challenge, the problems and prospects of
maintaining an antiterror coalition, and the role of democracy as an antidote to the
regions political ills.Information